Before the Broken (A Broken Fic)
by Griffin Stone
Summary: (Broken prologue; AU) Ten years after the events of the show, much has changed. There's a new Guardian, some of the heroes of Paris are married and have families, Adrien and Gabriel are closer than they ever were, and a new young hero is joining the team. But not all changes are happy. Hawkmoth is changing the game, and not even Gabriel can stop it.


**A/N: Okay, first off, I'm going to say that I have a very important announcement on my profile regarding my writing!**

**Now, to this story. While the Broken Arc was intended to be canon-compliant, the season three finale kind of killed a lot of things I had going. So, AU! This is canon-compliant up to the Kwami Buster episode. Anything that followed in canon, doesn't happen here unless otherwise stated. Timetagger, for example, did happen. This prologue starts right after Bunnix returns to her time, actually. Everything in that episode remains the same, except Fluff never spoke, her favorite food is chocolate, and Bunnix's Miraculous didn't get broken by younger Chat being overzealous. **

**Originally, this was going to be combined with the first part of the Broken Arc (In case you're wondering, yes, I have just the prologue and part two of the Broken Arc. I posted _Down a Broken Rabbit Hole_, then people wanted more. Or, at least a history. Part one of the Broken Arc should be posted in November.) but then I realized that, since this takes place ten years in the future, there was a lot of explaining to do. This story is a bit of an info dump, but it covers the most important things for later stories. It's also mostly silly and light, except for one part (giveNooroolove2k19!) then the final scene takes on the overall feel for this Arc.**

**Just to clarify, I have Marinette as fourteen (thirteen in the Origins episode) and Adrien as fifteen (fourteen in Origins) in the show's main timeline. The other teens are a mix of fourteen and fifteen, and Luka is sixteen. The Broken Arc starts ten years in the future.**

**Things I borrowed for this AU: Prophe-Cass' OC's Oliver and Olivia, plus Wayzz's snack preference. Duusuu's snack preference from a Tumblr artist. I believe their username is wheresduusu.**

**Okay, done talking. Onto the story!**

* * *

"_Sandblaster, my name is Hawkmoth. So, all of-"_

"_No."_

"_...what?"_

"_You aren't Hawkmoth."_

"_I am Hawkmoth! Who else has power over akumas?"_

"_Okay, maybe you're Hawkmoth. But not the real one."_

"_What-"_

"_This isn't my first disco. I've seen Hawkmoth. You aren't him."_

"A_ smart one, eh? Very well."_

"'_Very well' what? I still want my revenge!"_

"_And you shall. You want to smooth out Paris, but Ladybug and Chat Noir will stop you."_

"_So I take them down first!"_

"_Precisely. Except, strike them when they are more vulnerable."_

"_Huh?"_

"_Sandblaster is no more. You are Timetagger, and I'm giving you the power to go back in time and strike Ladybug and Chat Noir at any time you wish! Bring _me _their Miraculous, and I'll see you have your revenge on Paris."_

"_As you wish… Hawkmoth."_

* * *

Bunnix stepped through the portal and closed it. Chat stared where the portal had been, wishing he could have seen his younger self's face when they fought Timetagger together. Oh, well. Bunnix would probably have something to say about time paradoxes, and Chat had heard that speech a few times already.

Chat leaned against his baton, watching Chris get hauled off by a scolding Manon. He shook his head in amusement.

Manon was barely fifteen years old -a full year younger than Chris- but she had done some serious maturing. No longer was she a pushy, whining five-year old. Manon had grown into a thoughtful teenager with a knack for calming people down.

Ladybug had taken an interest in Manon a few months ago, even giving the girl a necklace. While it wasn't obvious to an outside viewer -his Lady was too careful for that- the team was anticipating a new member.

Bunnix, still scratching her head over how past-Ladybug had plotted with present-Ladybug, approached Chat.

"Well, my job here is done." She stretched, groaning. "Remind me to not get trapped in ancient Egypt again, huh?"

Chat blinked at her. "You what?"

Bunnix rolled her eyes. "I've already explained once. Not happening again. Later!"

Bunnix bounded away, leaving Chat feeling like he'd missed something. That happened a lot, actually. Chat half-believed that Bunnix held most of her conversations with people in three different timeframes. Give it a few years, and he'd hear the rest of what she'd said.

"That's it?" Rena Rouge said from where she stood with Pegasus. "It feels anti-climatic."

Pegasus adjusted his glasses. "It would appear from Bunnix's words that the fight lasted from at least the time of ancient Egypt."

"Bunnix travels hundreds of years in seconds," Rena said dismissively. "It couldn't have lasted longer than ten minutes for her."

Chat checked the area for Viperion, but the snake-themed hero was already gone. Likely had gone after Bunnix.

Chat turned to Ladybug, then hesitated. Ladybug where the portal had been, eyes distant and worried.

Chat stepped forward. "M'lady?"

Ladybug twitched away before Chat could take her hand, blinking back to the present. "Yes, Chat?"

"You look distracted. Is something wrong?"

"No, no…" Ladybug's eyes said otherwise.

"No secrets," Chat said in a teasing tone, because there was one _huge_ secret they could never reveal to each other.

Ladybug looked at him, craning her neck because he stood so close. "It's about Hawkmoth. Something isn't right."

Chat shrugged and glanced at Chris. Ladybug had been saying that something was off for months now. Chat hadn't noticed anything, though, no more than Hawkmoth's victims had become increasingly quiet during the battles.

"It's been eleven years," Chat said. "Maybe he's running out of material."

Ladybug smiled at that, though she still looked distracted. She bid the team good-bye, then yo-yoed away.

* * *

Nooroo separated with his Miraculous to the sound of outraged growling. Tired, the butterfly kwami let himself flop to the floor and listened to the grumbles.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir, always getting in my way. Even in the past!"

Shoes slapped sharply against the floor, stepping carelessly over Nooroo and stopping at the elevator.

Nooroo closed his eyes, silently wishing for a caring hand to pick him up. Maybe offer a snack, or even a kind word.

He got none of those, not that he even hoped.

Eventually, the elevator started to descend, and a flippant voice echoed around the observatory.

"Gabriel will be here for you later, Nooroo."

Nooroo listened to the humming of the elevator fade into silence. He sat up silently and bowed his head. The tiny sniffles of a hungry, lonely kwami filled the dark room.

* * *

Three years ago, Ladybug had gathered Chat, Rena Rouge, Carapace, Pegasus, Viperion, and King Monkey together. Viperion hadn't known what to expect, but Ladybug giving each member of the team their Miraculous to keep hadn't been it. The sudden addition of a new hero named Bunnix had shocked the team as well.

Even Queen Bee, Ryuko, and Multi-Mouse -who Viperion had seen once before- had received their Miraculous. However, since their identities had been revealed before, Ladybug had said she'd go to each secretly. The three rarely made an appearance in battle, to protect their families.

Viperion wondered what had happened to cause Ladybug to decide this, but she never did explain. She had only stressed on how important it was for their identities to remain a secret, as she always had.

Then she'd surprised them all again by stating that she was partially wrong. She had explained that she'd realized that sometimes, keeping both lives in line didn't always work when you're a full-time hero. She had urged the team to find someone to trust in their civilian lives, someone who could cover their absence or help them if they were hurt without a Miraculous Ladybug to fix them.

Luka hadn't wanted to bother his family with his double life, so he kept his identity a secret for a while. He was so rarely called on, he didn't think it was necessary to have someone to cover him on the civilian side.

Though circumstances had decided for him when, on patrol as Viperion, he'd come across Mr. Kubdel assisting Bunnix. She had been injured in a fight earlier that day, one that Ladybug hadn't used her Lucky Charm. He'd been ready to go down and get Bunnix away, when she'd reverted back to Alix! And Mr. Kubdel hadn't even batted an eye, simply held out some chocolate to Alix's kwami and continued on.

As far as Viperion knew, Mr. Kubdel was still the only parent of any of the members of the team to know his kid held a Miraculous. Alix had explained that her father had known for ten years, before Alix even had her Miraculous!

As it turned out, the treasured pocket watch Alix had received on her fifteenth birthday had been the Bunny Miraculous, lost in Egyptian times while Bunnix fought an akuma -wait, hadn't his name been Timetagger?- and found by Mr. Kubdel's family years later. The watch had been passed through the family to Alix, who'd eventually given it to her future self when present Bunnix was freed ten years before, and past Alix had had to explain the loss of the pocket watch somehow.

Viperion had learned this a year ago when, on impulse, he'd shown his civilian form to Alix and her father. His secret was safe with them, and having Mr. Kubdel in the know gave Viperion a safe place to transform and someone to confide in.

A fact for which he was deeply grateful after the Timetagger incident. Something felt off with Timetagger but, like Ladybug, Viperion was unable to determine what. Disturbed, he returned to the cottage tucked away behind the museum, landing moments after Bunnix.

"_Maybe Mr. Kubdel will know,"_ Viperion thought, absently knocking on the door. He listened to the muffled thuds of Mr. Kubdel fumbling through his home.

Viperion was pulled from his thoughts when Bunnix gave a slight moan. He reacted instinctively, swiveling and raising his arms to steady Bunnix when she staggered back.

At the same time, the door opened to reveal Mr. Kubdel. He took in the heroes' position in a glance, then went to Bunnix's other side.

For as long as Viperion had known Bunnix's civilian identity, she'd been having dizzy spells after using her powers. She suspected it had to do with the crack running across her Miraculous, as she hadn't had any issues until a case of Chat's bad timing had damaged her Miraculous.

"How long?" Mr. Kubdel asked, helping guide Bunnix inside.

"She was fine until just now," Viperion said.

"I'm fine now, Luka," Bunnix mumbled, walking clumsily.

Viperion glanced over Bunnix's head, knowing in an instant that Mr. Kubdel had caught the slip from the look in the older man's eyes. Silently, the two men helped Bunnix sit on a cluttered couch. Viperion crouched in front of Bunnix, while Mr. Kubdel cleared the couch of books and artifacts.

"Bunnix," Viperion murmured. "Bunnix, look at me."

Bunnix blinked heavily, but met Viperion's eyes. Viperion let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. At least she was still coherent.

"Let's get her laying down," Mr. Kubdel said, having cleared the couch.

"I can walk," Bunnix mumbled, even as her eyes slid shut and she started to lean forward.

"Just a moment," Viperion said. He lightly shook her shoulders, earning a weak glare. "Detransform first."

Bunnix stared at Viperion for a long moment, then murmured, "Fluff, counter-clockwise."

Bunnix's suit vanished as the young woman slumped into Viperion's arms. Viperion hissed in frustration and shifted Alix so she was laying down. Letting her father settle her, Viperion turned back around and scooped an exhausted Fluff from the floor. Fluff didn't make a sound, only sat up to peer over Luka's fingers.

"She's going to be okay," Viperion murmured to Fluff, who stared silently up at him. "Come on, let's get you and Sass a snack. Sass, scales rest."

Sass stretched beside Luka, then floated down to sit on Luka's palm. Fluff grinned up at Luka, her tiny body wracked with shivers.

"Fluff, are you okay?" Luka asked worriedly when the kwami continued to shake.

Fluff shrugged. Her ears drooped, but she continued to grin.

"The Rabbit Miraculous was strained much today," Sass said knowingly. "Maybe too much."

Fluff frowned. She shook her head fiercely, then crossed her paws in a huff. Luka smiled at the excitable rabbit. He'd never heard her speak a word, but she had no issues getting her point across.

"I think we're all tired after today," Luka said.

Luka set the kwamis on a stack of books on the kitchen counter, then opened the cabinet in which they kept the kwamis' food. Fluff eagerly took the chocolate bar from Luka, and had half of it gone in seconds. Sass just nibbled on the cracker Luka gave him.

Luka returned to the living room. Mr. Kubdel had just finished tucking a blanket around Alix, and straightened with a sigh.

"I don't see any injuries and she doesn't have a fever. She's just exhausted," Mr. Kubdel said.

"She had to work harder than usual today," Luka said. "She mentioned ancient Egypt."

Mr. Kubdel sighed and ran a hand through his thinning hair. "I need to get to a meeting. Could you watch Alix for me?"

"Sure," Luka said. Mr. Kubdel helped Luka so much by keeping his secret, he was glad to help.

Mr. Kubdel nodded and grabbed a stack of papers. "I shouldn't be more than an hour. Come get me if you need to."

* * *

Adrien hurried up the steps of the Agreste mansion. His father had been gone that morning for a fashion shoot, but he usually came home when there was an akuma attack.

Adrien smiled to himself. Two years ago, he would often go a week without seeing his father. At twenty-three years of age, Adrien had been ready to take the plunge and leave home for his own place. It wasn't like his father would see any less of him.

Then, unexpectedly, Gabriel had announced he had a free afternoon. Father and son had spent the afternoon just… talking. About anything and everything. A few weeks later, the event had repeated itself. This quickly became a weekly occurrence, then several times a week.

Gabriel hadn't just been spending time with Adrien, either. He'd shocked the city by showing up personally to his fashion shows. Nadja Chamack had spent a full minute gaping when he showed up at the studio one day, and Gabriel and Adrien had spent an afternoon dodging paparazzi when Adrien brought his father to the Dupein-Chang bakery.

His father was growing less intense, more open. Adrien had never heard so many stories of his mother, or seen such soft smiles as when Gabriel spoke of Emilie. It had been an unexpected change, but Adrien loved it.

"I'm home," Adrien announced as he pushed the door open.

The Agreste guard Adrien fondly called Gorilla -formerly Adrien's bodyguard, now house guard- grunted a greeting.

"Is Father back?" Adrien asked.

Gorilla shook his head.

"Is Nathalie around? How is she today?"

Gorilla grunted again, waving a hand in a vague motion.

"'She' is just fine," Nathalie's voice responded.

Adrien turned with a broad grin to his father's assistant. Nathalie held herself with the same ramrod posture and emotionless face that Adrien had always known, but she was noticeably pale and thin.

Ten years before, she'd started having dizzy spells. Adrien had feared she would be lost to the same illness that had taken his mother, but Nathalie was too resilient. About the same time Gabriel started spending more time at home, Nathalie's fits lessened. She was still tired a lot of the time, but Adrien hoped she would one day be back to her old self.

"Nathalie," Adrien said in greeting. "You haven't been straining yourself, have you?"

Nathalie gave him a small smile, another recent development. "As though you would let me. I was simply planning your father's schedule for the month." She waved him over to the small table tucked beside the stairs.

Adrien scanned the schedule, silently delighted by the outings lined up. Some were with Adrien, some were business, and several were visiting the little bakery to see Marinette, who was one of Gabriel's rising designers by now.

Adrien mentally noted the days his father would be visiting the bakery, so he could ensure he would be free on those days. Despite him being a model and she being a designer, Adrien and Marinette saw each other so rarely.

The sound of a door opening pulled Adrien from his thoughts. He turned.

Gabriel stood briefly at the door, eyes sweeping over the group in an obvious head count. His stern expression relaxed slightly.

"I hoped you would be here, Adrien," Gabriel said, walking to his son with broad strides. "There was another akuma attack today."

"I know, Father," Adrien said. "I was catching up with Marinette and the Lahiffes."

Which was totally true. He'd been with Marinette, Nino, and Alya before the attack. Nino and Alya gave a hurried excuse to separate, and he and Marinette had done the same.

Adrien fought alongside Carapace and Rena on a regular basis now, and he wondered how much Multimouse did in the background. He so rarely saw Marinette's alter ego.

"That's the third attack this week," Gabriel said, frowning deeply. "Something isn't right."

Adrien stiffened at the familiar words. First Ladybug, now his father? Was something really wrong?

Nathalie cleared her throat, startling the Agreste men back to the present. Gabriel relaxed again and nodded.

"Well, no harm done, I suppose. Adrien, did Marinette mention her designs for the upcoming show? I trust her to get the designs done, of course."

"She did!" Adrien said brightly. He pulled Marinette's sketches from his messenger bag, glad to distract his father.

* * *

After Adrien and Gabriel moved on to the designer's office, Nathalie slowly gathered her notebook and cooling cup of coffee. She went to her room and set her things down, then sat tiredly on the bed.

"Master?" Duusuu poked her head out from behind the pillows.

"I'm fine, Duusuu."

"You always say that!"

Duusuu gave a slightly hysterical giggle and flew to Nathalie's things. She didn't seem to have much control over the sound or the sporadic, full-body twitch. It had been months since Mayora's last appearance, but Duusuu didn't seem to be getting any calmer.

Though, Nathalie mused as Duusuu perched on the edge of the coffee mug, she might be less twitchy if she drank less coffee.

* * *

"I'm back!" Marinette called as she entered the bakery.

"Oh, Marinette!" Tom swept his daughter into a crushing hug. "We were so worried!"

"You were worried, Tom," Sabine corrected her husband. "Let the poor girl breathe."

Tom reluctantly released Marinette, who took a dramatically deep breath. She grinned up at Tom's sheepish smile, then hopped up to give her dad a quick peck on the cheek.

"I'm fine, Dad," Marinette said. Scanned the empty bakery. "Bunnix handled it."

"After you tried for two hours," Sabine said, lightly scolding. She went to a shelf and picked out a pink macaron. "Tikki must be starving."

Tikki phased through Marinette's purse and happily took the macaron. "I am! Thank you, Sabine."

Tikki adored Sabine, though Marinette suspected it had something to do with Sabine always offering her macarons.

After accidentally revealing her secret identity as Ladybug five years before, Marinette had thought her life as Ladybug would be over. But Tom and Sabine fully supported Marinette, and urged her to continue to be a hero. Even if Tom worried during every fight.

"Where's Longg?" Marinette asked.

"He was here just a minute ago…" Tom glanced around. "A customer came in and he went… ah, yes!"

Tom went to the back of the store and opened the oven. Marinette face-palmed at the sight of the dragon kwami lounging in the hot oven, pretty sure there was some rule about bakery sanitation about not letting small creatures into the ovens. Although… that probably wasn't an issue for most places.

Marinette almost insisted on Longg evacuating the stove, but couldn't bring herself to. Kagami and her mother had moved back to Japan a month before, and Kagami had decided it was best to leave her Miraculous behind. The parting between Kagami and Longg had been unexpectedly hard for them.

Poor Longg had been almost depressed since his chosen had left. Seeing him so relaxed and calm in the stove, Marinette opted to leave the little being in his spot.

Marinette headed upstairs to the living room. As she opened the door, there was a collective squeal, then Marinette found herself surrounded by excited kwamis. They talked quickly, voices overlapping in adorable chatter.

"Marinette! You're back!"

"Did you go through one of the portals?"

"How did you do that- that- that little flip?"

"Is Chris okay?"

"You're so brave!"

"Okay, okay," Marinette laughed, waving a hand at the kwamis. "Everything is fine. I didn't go through portals, that's more Bunnix's thing. And Chris is okay." She scooped Barkk, the dog kwami closer. "As for that flip, you'll be doing that with your chosen soon enough."

Barkk wriggled excitedly. "When, Marinette? When?"

"Well, I was going to wait a few more months… but she handled herself so well today, helping us clear the park when Timetagger first started causing issues. I think she's ready. How about this afternoon?"

"Already?!" Barkk flew quick circles around Marinette's head, then nuzzled her cheek. "Oh, I can't wait!"

Marinette scratched Barkk's ear. "You and Manon will get along so well."

Barkk was wildly enthusiastic about fighting akumas, so Marinette knew she'd need a holder to keep her in line. Upon seeing how much Manon had matured as she grew, she'd started quietly encouraging Manon into what would soon be hero material.

Barkk drew herself up. "I'll make you proud, Guardian!"

"Oh, you make me feel so old when you call me that," Marinette said with a giggle. She looked at the gathered kwamis. "Where's Orikko?"

"Upstairs!" said Ziggy, the little goat kwami. "She's been designing!"

"She's still trying to impress Kaalki," Roarr said. The tiger kwami rolled her eyes. "Like that'll ever happen."

"Roarr, you should really be more encouraging," Marinette said.

Roarr lowered her lids halfway down. "I was talking about Kaalki ever getting impressed."

"Oh… well, I suppose you have a point," Marinette said. "Let's go see what Orikko's got so far, then we can help Mom and Dad clean up the bakery."

"Yay!" the kwamis cheered and phased through the ceiling.

Marinette followed the kwamis by way of the ladder, emerging into her old room turned kwami sanctuary.

Marinette and her designs had outgrown her little attic room years ago, so she'd moved into her own studio apartment. Her old room had been left the same way she'd always kept it, and Marinette stored old clothing, designs, baking books, and her Miracle Box inside.

Marinette smiled at the kwamis swarming around Orikko. Three years ago, at the age of twenty-one, Master Fu had given up Guardianship of the Miracle Box -this included his own Miraculous- to her. While she'd initially balked, Marinette had grown to love the kwamis under her watch like family.

Her first act as Guardian had been to give Alya, Nino, Chloe, Luka, Kagami, Max, and Kim their Miraculous to keep, and begin Alix's training as a Miraculous holder. The remaining Miraculous remained activated, and the kwamis were free to roam the living quarters of the bakery.

Marinette spent a few minutes helping the chicken kwami adjust her designs, then she gathered up the kwamis and they headed down to the bakery.

* * *

Alya didn't get two steps inside the house before she was attacked from both directions. Arms latched tightly around her legs as her two attackers hollered their battle cry.

"Mommy!"

"Oliver! Olivia!" Alya flailed briefly before regaining her balance, then smiled down at the three-year-old twins. "What have you been up to?"

"Playing Ladybug and Chat Noir!" piped up Oliver, the eldest of the twins. "I'm Chat, Olivia's Ladybug."

"And where is your dad?" Alya asked, as Nino still hadn't made an appearance.

"The evil Hawkmoth is this way!" Oliver explained. He released Alya and bolted toward his and Olivia's bedroom. "Come on!"

Alya followed Oliver, dragging the leg with Olivia still attached. Trixx phased out of her pocket, rushing for the kitchen for a snack. Alya peeked into the twins' room, and didn't even bother to hide her laugh.

Nino was sitting cross-legged on the floor, Olivia's red jump rope tangled around his upper body. His tattered cap -he never was going to get rid of it, Alya suspected- was imprisoned in an overturned toy crate. The twins' stuffed animals were all piled on their beds; the small chairs, blankets, and pillows had been built into a fort.

"Would you help me?" Nino pleaded, craning his neck back. "Your son can really tie a knot!"

"Oh, so he's my son now?" Alya said, raising an eyebrow. "This morning he was _your_ son."

Nino finally looked at Alya and chuckled. "That was before he decided I made a good Hawkmoth."

"Daddy's got an evil face," Oliver declared.

"Don't you worry," Alya said, leaning down to pry Olivia free and stand her on her feet. "Ladybug and Rena Rouge are here to rescue you!"

Oliver frowned. "But Daddy's the bad guy."

"Hm, you're right." Alya tapped her chin. "Then Anti-Bug and Rena Rogue will rescue him!"

Olivia bounced at the idea. "Free Daddy!"

"Wait!" Oliver wailed. He scooped up a plastic Chat baton and pointed it at Olivia. "You're a good guy!"

"Not anymore! Anti-Bug, free Daddy! I'll handle Oliver-Chat!"

Alya chased after Oliver with comically large stomping steps, scooping up the squealing boy when he tried to rush between her legs. Olivia ran to Nino and started tugging at the knots, inevitably tightening the bonds.

Above the family, Wayzz and Trixx silently floated. Well, silent except for the crunch of Wayzz's carrots.

* * *

"Another successful battle for Ladybug and Chat Noir!" Nadja said with her annoying cheer. "While most of the battle was missed to our cameras, we did catch this brief interaction."

Lila turned from the TV display in the storefront, only years of practice keeping the smile on her face. Ladybug and Chat Noir, _again?_ Always about them. She huffed and continued down the street.

Lila had connections, more so than her public ones with the Agreste family and in the theater -a fitting career, Lila thought. One of those connections was Hawkmoth. And it was in her best interest that Hawkmoth succeed over the "heroes" of Paris.

Lila made her way through through the busy streets of Paris, arriving at an apartment complex. Checking an address on a slip of paper in her pocket, she navigated the building until she found the apartment for which she was searching. She knocked and waited.

Muffled voices came from the door, followed by jumbled thumps. Lila raised an eyebrow, then smoothed her expression when the door opened.

Alya stood at the door, easily holding a young girl who grinned shyly at Lila. Lila faked a smile back, then directed her attention to Alya.

The two women had been acquaintances since school. Alya used to think of Lila as a friend, but Marinette had pulled her away some years back. Lila and Alya remained on a casual status with each other, but neither made an effort to contact the other. Marinette was almost always around Alya and Lila didn't have the patience to deal with the bluenette anymore, so she and Alya had dropped out of contact.

Until today.

"Lila!" Alya smiled genuinely. "How was India?"

Oh, she actually thought Lila had brought her theatrical talent to the royalty of India again? Lila resisted rolling her eyes.

"It was fantastic," Lila said brightly instead. "I'll tell you about it some other time. Listen, I know you still do the Ladyblog. Love the pictures from last week, by the way."

"Thanks." Alya set down the girl, who raced back into the house. "Did you come all this way to tell me that?"

"Well, as much as I love to show my appreciation for your hard work," Lila said, beaming her widest, fakest smile. "I have big news. I need help, though, and I think you're just the one to help!"

"Oh? I'd love to help a friend in any way I can," Alya said.

Hook, line, and sinker. Lila widened her eyes in supposed excitement and leaned closer while lowering her voice.

"I think I know how to figure out Hawkmoth's identity!"

* * *

"Bye, Mrs. Lahiffe," Manon said, waving as she left the Lahiffe's house.

"Thank you, Manon, for bringing Chris home," Mrs. Lahiffe said.

"Anytime," Manon said with a broad grin. With a final wave, she started walking away, saying under her breath, "Somebody's got to keep him in line."

Manon didn't understand Chris. He was akumatized on a monthly basis, sometimes twice a month. What was he so angry about? Why did he always want to destroy Paris? And why had he gone after Ladybug and Chat Noir?

Ladybug had been Manon's hero since she was a little girl. She didn't understand how anyone could not like her.

Manon clutched the pendant of the necklace Ladybug had given her. She sometimes thought it was weird for the hero of Paris to give her a necklace, but she considered it her lucky charm.

Pun intended.

Manon paused at the end of the block and frowned over her shoulder. Chris had been quiet when she was bringing him home, unusually unresponsive to Manon's scoldings. Maybe she should check on him again…

"Manon!"

Manon jumped at the sound of her name. She looked around, then the voice called again. It was… Ladybug? Manon followed the voice to one of the alleys.

Ladybug stood in the alley, just far enough back to be out of eyeline of the street. She was alone, and beckoned Manon closer with one hand. The other hand was kept behind her back.

"Ladybug?" Manon stepped into the alley. "Is everything okay?"

"It's just fine, Manon," Ladybug said, beaming down at her. She crouched to Manon's eye level. "This won't take long. I just wanted to introduce you to someone."

Manon looked around the empty alley. "Who?"

Ladybug drew her hand from behind her back. On her palm was a small creature. It seemed to be a pink dog the size of a fist, with eager purple eyes and oversized ears.

"This is Barkk," Ladybug explained. "The dog kwami."

"This is a kwami?" Manon said, awed. Since kwami couldn't be photographed, the only way to see a kwami was in person. Manon had never been so lucky.

"Hi!" Barkk yelped. She flew around Manon, then floated in front of her. "I've been waiting to meet you!"

"Meet… me?" Manon repeated.

Barkk nodded enthusiastically, throwing her little body around. Manon reached up, catching the excited kwami when she started to fall. Barkk giggled and sprawled contentedly in Manon's palm. Manon looked at Ladybug.

Ladybug smiled. "I hoped you would get along with Barkk."

Manon cocked her head. "Why?"

"Manon Chamack," said Ladybug, something in her voice making Manon stand straighter. "I gave you the dog Miraculous six months ago, in anticipation of this moment."

Manon clutched the necklace with her free hand. "This is a Miraculous?"

"It is. Barkk is your kwami, and your Miraculous will grant you the power of Tracking. You will use it for the good of Paris, and to help in the fight against Hawkmoth. If you want, at least."

Manon nodded firmly, tightening her hold on the Miraculous. "I do want to, Ladybug!"

"Then, Manon, I leave Barkk in your care. Find someone you can trust to entrust your secret with, someone you can go to if you need help and I'm not around. I can't stress enough how important it is that no one else knows, though."

"I understand," Manon said.

Ladybug smiled and nodded. "I have to go now, but Barkk will explain about the dog Miraculous and the abilities it will give you."

Without another word, Ladybug yo-yoed away. Manon stared after her, silently promising that she wouldn't let Ladybug down.

"We get to kick Hawkmoth butt!" Barkk yelped, kind of breaking the solemn moment.

* * *

Days turned into weeks, into months and Ladybug distracted herself with training Tracker -Manon's hero persona. Telling herself that nothing had changed, the attacks were no different, it was just her imagination.

Until everyone started to see it.

Carapace came to her one day with stories of his younger brother's nightmare-filled nights. Nightmares of dark voices and broken cities and blood on his hands.

And he wasn't the only one. Nearly half the victims began suffering nightmares or retaining memories of what they'd done while akumatized. Horror swept through the city as former victims tried to adjust alone, but only left themselves vulnerable to akumatization once again.

The attacks were getting more dangerous. Rena Rouge died once, Carapace five times, and Ladybug felt phantom scars across her back from injuries healed physically by the Miraculous Ladybug. A wide-eyed Viperion had to be led away by Bunnix after one particularly vicious akuma, his mumbles of "so much blood" from the usually stoic hero shaking everyone to their core. Chat lost his ring in one occasion, Carapace lost his bracelet twice. Queen Bee tried to help, but her parents inevitably ended up in peril every time, so Ladybug was forced to have her stand down. Bunnix seemed to be wearing down, but Ladybug didn't know why.

Everything was getting worse, and Ladybug didn't know what to do. Desperate for something -_anything_\- leading to Hawkmoth, she made the biggest mistake of her life.

She listened when Rena said she and Lila had found Hawkmoth.

* * *

**A/N: For some reason, I keep cracking up over that last line.**

**Marinette keeps the Mouse Miraculous on, and hides it in her pouch when she's Ladybug. Though she can't fight akumas, Multimouse sometimes makes appearances with average criminals.**

**If you have any questions regarding this Arc, feel free to ask! There's a lot of elements going on here, so if you notice something doesn't add up or just want more of an explanation, I will be happy to elaborate! Also, the Broken Arc will sometimes involve large time lapses between stories. I just want you to know that if you want to fill in those gaps with your own stories or use the Broken Arc for a story, feel free! I just ask that you give credit and let me know when you post so I can read your story, too!**


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